Pretending
by AniZH
Summary: Jade likes scaring people. Beck isn't able to set boundaries when girls get too friendly with him. Why shouldn't Jade scare those girls away from Beck under the cover of them dating? It doesn't matter that they're not really a couple. ... Though pretending sometimes leads to more.
1. Chapter 1

Hello!  
I wondered if I should finish this story first and upload all of it at once - as a long one shot - but I decided to devide it into chapters instead, to already be able to upload some of it. It will have... three to four parts all in all. We'll see how it devides itself as I'll write more and more of it.  
I'll try upload once a week, around the weekend.  
Enjoy!

* * *

They know each other for roughly two months now, ever since they both started their Freshman Year at Hollywood Arts.

Jade became quick friends with Cat (though she isn't sure herself how that happened), while Beck did with Andre and Robbie. As Cat and Robbie also quickly started to become friends, they kind of all spend time together. At least lunch. Jade isn't too keen on spending every break with someone, but she somehow enjoys being around Cat and why not eat lunch with the others too? She still barely knows them though.

She finds Beck attractive but she knows, nothing will ever happen between them. For one, because Beck will never want to. He would never go for a girl like her. But she also doesn't want to date him. He appears to be sickenly perfect and she finds it unnerving. Well, the only thing that doesn't seem perfect is how... he just doesn't seem to be able to say no. How weak he is.

Every time she sees him, there seems to be another girl close and flirting with him or being all over him in any other way. She doesn't think he likes it. He flirts back at first and enjoys it. He seems flattered every now and then but at some point he starts getting irritated by it as far as she can tell. She always had a knack for reading people and Beck's face and body language make her believe that he would like to have time alone or just with his friends at school too and that the girls often go overboard for him when he just wants to have a quick flirt (or even just smalltalk with a stupid smile that will make you believe he flirts with you). But he never says anything to any girl about it. Because he just isn't able to say what he wants.

It doesn't matter to her. She doesn't care what he feels like or what he wants. It's not like they are friends or anything.

But his weakness crosses over into her life when they eat lunch together with Cat, Robbie and Andre and there are always some other girls present too, to talk to Beck.

She sits at another table a few times and Cat mostly sits with her then but for Cat's sake, she tries to sit with everyone else too, as Cat wants that – and she is friends with Cat somehow.

It's going on her nerves. It's going on everyone's nerves, she assumes. But nobody says anything and she isn't having any of it anymore.

She's getting a headache as there are two girls around Beck once more, giggling at some off-hand comment he made about Andre's story about his last class.

"Stop," Jade suddenly cuts through.

She knows she could just as well walk away but Cat wouldn't like it and she honestly also enjoyed how Andre told his story just now and knows something to say to that herself. If that stupid giggling wouldn't give her a headache.

Everyone at the table looks at her in confusion and okay, she also doesn't like those girls looking at her with those dumb faces, so she easily tells them: "Piss off, you stupid idiots!"

"Excuse you?" one of them says.

"Are you talking to us?" the other one checks.

Both of them are absolutely shocked.

"Yes," she says. "Leave! You're annoying as hell."

The girls open their mouthes and close them again as they share a look, then they stand up and one of them says: "We don't have to allow you to talk to us like this!"

The other one turns to Beck. "Beck? Will you come with us?"

Beck almost looks like a deer caught in headlight which is sort of funny. For a moment, she wants to wait and see what'll happen. She's sure he will stand his ground now. He wants to stay and eat lunch with his friends, so he won't go with those girls. Which will finally require him to say no.

She does want to see that but she knows the girls will start arguing then, trying to convince him to go with them. She'll end that before it can start, so her headache can't worsen: "No, he's staying! You're leaving!"

"You don't own Beck," one of them says.

She doesn't. She doesn't want to. Still, if that's what they need to hear to go away: "And what if I do?"

Her tone is aggressive and decicive enough that they share another look, before all they leave without another word.

"Okay," Andre makes, looking unsure between Jade and Beck.

He's not actually thinking that Jade meant that she did own Beck because they are a couple or something, right?

"They were annoying," Robbie makes Rex say which probably means Robbie thinks so as well but doesn't dare say so.

That's the only prompt Cat needs to say: "My brother once got called annoying by some guy. He bit into his hand because of it."

Well, that sounds much more interesting than talking about the girls that just left. "Was there blood?" Jade asks.

"Lots," Cat answers beaming as she notices that Jade likes that.

Their lunch is much more relaxed after that, at least Jade thinks so. They end up all laughing together.

.

.

He has found Jade attractive as soon as he saw her for the first time. But he knows they will never be together. For one, she would never go for a guy like him. And he also doesn't want to date her. She's just so grumpy and untalkitive and... he needs someone to talk to, to share opinions with. He isn't sure why Cat likes her, honestly, but he also finds Cat weird and while Jade seems too grumpy, Cat seems too happy in a way.

But just because he might find Jade somewhat strange, doesn't mean he can't appreciate what she just did. She actually got those girls away from him at least for lunch period, which is amazing. It's not like he has constantly been surrounded by girls but it has been a lot since he arrived at Hollywood Arts and finally got settled enough to find all his classes. It's going on his nerves but he has never been good at telling people off.

His parents taught him to always be polite. That's how he was raised. It's difficult for him to find the right words to turn girls away politely. Not to mention that he also enjoys the light flirting and there are a few girls he wants to flirt with more as well. It's just that at some point it becomes too much for him and he never knows when to draw the line and how to tell anyone when it's too much for him.

And then there are girls he could very well imagine to befriend but nothing more and they talk to him as if they want to be friends too but some time into them talking, he gets this inkling that they try to get closer. They start touching his arm or alike, playfully and... how do you turn a person away when they never outright say they want to date you? If he's misreading the signals and they're just being nice, he would look like an idiot, saying he doesn't want to date them.

He knows he has to say something sooner or later. Though maybe he doesn't.

After lunch, he walks up to Jade at her locker.

"Hey, Jade."

She turns to him with a cocked eyebrow and for some reason she knows what topic is on his mind: "Don't tell me that you can't stand up for yourself in front of those girls but will confront me for telling them off."

Wait. Does Jade know that he doesn't feel able to stand up for himself in a situation like earlier at lunch?

"No," he slowly answers. "The opposite." He doesn't want to confront her at all.

"Huh?" she makes, not understanding.

How can she? He explains: "I... I don't know when and how to tell them that it's too much for me. We had such a great lunch just now, without anyone around. So, you know... I wondered if you could do that again?"

He doesn't know why she would do it, but it doesn't hurt to ask, right? It didn't seem like she felt uncomfortable at all, doing that.

"What? Be your bodyguard?" she asks.

"Sort of," he responds. Though obviously, there is a very easy way to get all those girls away from him. At least for a while, until everyone knows each other and are more used to each other and then it all should go back to like it was at middle school, right? Where he might've been popular, also among girls, but flirting wasn't such a big topic. "If you're fine with it, maybe we can just pretend to be a couple for a while, so they stop with all of that."

If she pretended to be his girlfriend, with her reaction just now and her whole attitude all around, there barely would be any flirting anymore, right? They would stay away from him. And then, they can pretend to break up at one point. He doesn't think it will get back to how it is now then. Not when they all know each other better and are settled into the new school year.

Jade looks at him for a long moment, a cocked eyebrow again. Then she says: "If I was your girlfriend, I would draw the line much sooner than just now."

"Even better," he honestly says.

Jade looks at him for another moment, bevor she closes her locker and walks away, leaving him standing there.

.

.

Why shouldn't she do it? She likes scaring people away. And she would be more than happy to never have any other girls sit with them for lunch. That way she might actually enjoy eating lunch with Cat, Beck, Andre and Robbie.

She isn't sure that Beck actually knows what this means. She knows he likes a little bit of all the flirting. But she wouldn't even allow that. And how can she believingly chase them away at some point into the flirting, if she wouldn't allow any of it as his actual girlfriend?

Beck probably can't comprehend all that. But he'll see.

She gets her first chance to show him how it'll be when she walks into school the next morning. He's at his locker. He also just must have arrived there. There's already a girl there. Jade thinks she's from their year. Lauren or something.

Beck seems to enjoy the conversation, even when Lauren touches his arm while laughing. Yeah, no, Jade wouldn't allow that if she was Beck's girlfriend.

That's why she promptly walks up to Beck and Lauren. "What's going on?"

Beck looks at her in surprise. He can't have noticed her before. Lauren meanwhile already seems kind of intimidated.

"What do you mean?" she asks carefully.

"Leave him alone!" Jade tells her, glaring at her.

Lauren takes a step back but doesn't take flight directly.

Jade steps even closer to Beck, putting her hand on his shoulder, leaning into him. "I'm his girlfriend, so get your hands off of him," she tells Lauren.

Lauren's eyes widen, before she says a quick 'sorry' and then leaves.

Jade waits until she's around the corner, before she lets go of Beck and turns to him with a cocked eyebrow. "Is that what you want?"

Beck actually smiles. "Yes, thank you."

.

.

Even though Beck likes some of the flirting, it relieves him a whole lot to have Jade chasing every girl away now, as soon as they are even slightly flirting. He somehow has much more time to spend with his new friends and he enjoys that a whole lot.

When Jade also makes a girl go away for lunch, saying she's with Beck, also sitting right next to him, their friends look at them slightly confused.

"Oh. You're a couple now?" Andre asks.

Beck exchanges a look with Jade. She doesn't seem to care what he tells his friends. He considers telling them the truth. That would be the decent thing to do. But even if he don't know Andre and Robbie that well... He guesses they could spill the beans if they knew. Not on purpose, but accidentely.

"Yeah," he therefore says.

Cat beams. "I knew it! I thought right away that you would be perfect together."

"Right", Jade only makes, before: "What happened with your math homwork you whined about yesterday?"

That's that. They don't question it anymore. Beck feels as if Robbie is watching them for another long moment but nobody says anything more about it. And Beck's just left confused that Cat thought them perfect together. Well... Cat is weird.


	2. Chapter 2

Welcome back to the second chapter of this four-parter. Yes, I think I'll end with four chapters all in all.  
Thank you so so much for the lovely reviews you've given me, everyone! Hope you'll enjoy this chapter too, though there isn't thaaat much happening per se.

* * *

Jade has fun scaring away everyone. She enjoys it very much. It's not much more. It's not like Beck and she talk much more or touch a lot or anything. She sits next to him during lunch to let it appear more realistic. And in the process of scaring girls off, she touches his shoulder and alike like the first time. Sometimes, he also puts an arm around her in those moments. When it's done, she usually leaves him standing there again.

The thing is that people actually believe they are a couple now. Some girls ask her about it, some girls not interested in Beck, just to gossip.

Well, and if people believe it so easily...

Beck still appears to be oh so perfect. She's sure her father would be sceptical of him, just like she is. They see people so similiarly. His parents though... they would actually like Beck, right?

She has dinner with them, her father and her stepmother again tonight, on this Tuesday, and she knows that it will be all about her failures. How she chose Hollywood Arts as her high school, how she wants to persue arts, how she dresses awfully, how her hair looks like a mess...

She has half in mind to not go at all, but despite everything, she does love her grandparents and her father too. It's only as difficult as it is at the moment because she enrolled at Hollywood Arts.

But if she would say she has a boyfriend and would bring said boyfriend... As they would like him, they also would behave themselves around him, she's sure. She could have a nice dinner with them and maybe even get to talk about her classes at Hollywood Arts, if not the creative ones, at least the others.

With that thought in mind, she approaches Beck in front of his locker during one break, when nobody else is around him.

"I'd like something in exchange for chasing all the girls away from you," she says directly.

"What is it?" Beck asks, ready to actually give her something in exchange, without hesitation.

"Do you have time tonight for dinner?"

Beck seems a little unsure. "Yeah."

Is she really doing this? Well, but why not? Why shouldn't she?

"I'd like you to come pretend in front of my family to be my boyfriend."

Beck's surprised. He can't have counted on that. "Really?"

"Yes," she answers, having made up her mind. "I'm having dinner with my dad, his wife and his parents. They are on my case because I decided on this high school without them wanting to. I bet they would adore you and that would give me a calm dinner with you attending as well. They would be all over you after all."

"Well, uhm," Beck makes, before he shrugs: "Okay. For how long will we say we're together?"

She likes how he directly makes sure they are having their story straight. That's a kind of attitude she likes.

"Let's just say two weeks or something. Maybe we dated longer. I'll text you the details and also text you time and address later."

With that, she leaves the conversation again.

.

.

He takes care to dress nicely because he does want Jade's family to like him. That's what they are supposed to do for this, apparently. He has to make sure it'll end up this way now, as Jade also makes sure to scare everyone away for and from him.

This whole thing is a bit crazy. Meeting her family as her boyfriend though they barely know each other? But, heck, it's also crazy to claim they are a couple in school, just so he can live his life there in peace.

His father drops him off at the address Jade texted him. Jade already waits for him there on the sidewalk.

They greet each other before Beck asks, looking at the house at which they are standing: "So this is it?"

"Nah," Jade answers though. "It's a few houses further. I thought we should arrive together to not risk you arriving before me and having an awkward encounter before I'm there. And if we were a couple, we probably would've gotten here together."

"That's true," Beck says. It's smart. They probably would've gotten here together, possibly even hung out together before.

They don't say anything else on the way. Beck wonders if they still should talk about something, if they have to get some more facts straight before he meets her father and her grandparents as her boyfriend. He doesn't know what they might ask, what they might want to talk about. What if they ask him something about Jade? He doesn't know a thing about her.

Though... they won't think they're faking it. Why should they test him on how well he knows Jade?

And then they're already at the small house that must be her grandparents'. She rings the doorbell and then suddenly takes her hand in his. It doesn't look as if she planned to do it, more as if she suddenly had the idea. They exchange a look and he nods slightly. It's more than fine with him. He isn't bothered by any of her touches at all, also not when she suddenly grabs his arm while scaring girls away from him. He honestly likes the feeling of her hand in his.

An older man opens the door. "Jade. Good to see you. Come on in."

He steps aside and Beck isn't too sure if he's invited inside as well but Jade pulls him with her, still holding hands with him.

They directly arrive in a comfortable looking living space with a kitchen. Two women are moving about in the kitchen area while a man sits on a table that's set for six.

"Hello," the women both greet, stopping at what they are doing and smiling at the newcomers.

Beck notices that nobody comes over to greet Jade with a hug. Beck knows he couldn't be visiting his own grandparents without them hugging him during hello and goodbye. Well, maybe Jade sees her grandparents much more often than he does. Or they are just not those kind of people that hug all the time.

Beck awkwardly raises his hand in greeting at first but Jade speaks in his stead: "This is my boyfriend Beck."

The man that opened the door and must be Jade's grandfather promptly holds out his hand and Beck shakes it. And as her father then also rises from the chair, he quickly makes the round. He already shakes Jade's father's hand when he remembers that his own father would tell him to do the women first, but well, it's too late for that now. He walks over to them next and shakes each their hands and they at least also tell him their names while her father and her grandfather only nodded at him as they shook his hand, with her stepmother even offering that he can call her Stephanie.

"We were surprised when you suddenly said you would bring someone along," her grandfather tells Jade while Beck still shakes hands with Mrs. West and Stephanie.

Jade closed the door and also walked further into the room. "I just decided today that I could introduce him."

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience," Beck says and Jade's grandmother puts her hand on his arm with a smile: "No, we're happy to meet you. Why don't you sit down?"

Beck does. Jade's father already sat down again as well and Jade did too, next to him. Beck of course sits to her other side. It doesn't matter if they are a couple or not, he will stay by her side if he can while in her grandparents' house, surrounded by her family.

"You look like a very decent young man," Jade's grandfather – Mr. West senior – says, almost in an appreciative voice, while he sits down as well in the middle of the three still empty seats.

Beck looks over to Jade unsurely, who may not even really listen. She's pouring herself some lemon juice while Beck responds to Mr. West senior with a "thank you" that almost has a question mark in the end.

Jade offers him some lemon juice silently and Beck nods, so Jade also pours him some.

Apparently they arrived at the perfect time, because Stephanie and Mrs. West are putting all the food onto plates and into bowls now before they put it on the table. For a moment it's just all of them getting food on their own plates, handing each other different bowls and especially Mrs. West offering every different thing to Beck who takes her up on most offers.

Only when they all have started to eat, Mr. West senior finally asks: "Where did you two meet?"

"At school," Jade answers shortly.

"Oh, you're going to Hollywood Arts too?" Mrs. West checks and for Beck it doesn't sound like she's... happy that Jade and her apparent boyfriend go to the same school, though at least they would then spend supervised time together.

"I do," he responds, unsure again.

He notices Jade's grandparents glancing at each other while Mr. West junior cocks an eyebrow in a way that reminds Beck a bit of Jade. That's what she does when someone says something stupid around her.

He shortly glances to Jade but she either doesn't notice or doesn't care. Or she pretends she doesn't care.

Stephanie meanwhile smiles. "For how long have you been together?"

"It's been roughly two weeks now," Jade lies unabashedly.

Beck might be a little impressed. Yes, this is totally just like acting out a character. With that approach, it seems easy for him to lie. But he doesn't know if he could do it in front of his family like this.

"That's a very recent relationship," Mrs. West notices. "Weren't you drawn to each other right away?"

Is she actually wondering why it took them like two and a half months to get here after meeting each other at the beginning of the school year at Hollywood Arts instead of being glad that they first got to know each other before getting together two weeks ago?

And she's looking at him as if expecting him to answer. Well, then he will: "We were. I thought right away that she was pretty. But when you're new at a school..." He leaves it at that.

"Are you only together with her then because she's pretty?" That's finally Jade's father and he sounds almost dangerous.

"No, no, of course not," Beck hurries to say. "She's an amazing person."

What else can he say? He barely knows her. He can't say what exactly he likes about her or anything.

They don't ask anything more about it. Instead Mr. West senior says: "Tell us about yourself. What do your parents do?"

Okay, that's a much easier topic to talk about. He does tell about his parents' jobs and Mr. West senior notices: "So your parents also don't work in any... arts."

"No, they don't," Beck confirms. He doesn't know what that has to do with anything but he gathers that Jade's parents also don't work in a job that has anything to do with arts, maybe her grandparents also don't. While the two of them still go to Hollywood Arts and possibly want to persue arts for a job.

But it's also not like his parents aren't creative at all. "My mother does play an instrument and my father wrote stories back when he was a teenager and kind of tries to take that up again as a hobby."

Mrs. West nods. "Well, creativity is great as a hobby. It's lovely to dabble in arts while you're earning your money decently."

And she's looking at Jade at that, just as her grandfather and her father are.

Okay, wow. Seriously?

Well, she did say she wanted him with her because her family was 'still on her case' about her deciding to enroll at Hollywood Arts. He didn't really think about her reasoning to bring him here before. But what the hell is wrong with her family? It seems to him as if Jade expressed her desire of persuing arts and as if they are really dismayed about it.

Yeah, obviously his parents also said before that he shouldn't count on earning enough money with acting and alike, that it would be difficult getting his foot in that door at all and then he would have to compete with so many others for every little job. But they also encouraged him to try, to always follow his passions. Like family should, right?

"Can we not talk about that in front of him?" Jade asks pointedly.

For a moment it's silent with only Stephanie looking at all uncomfortable. Finally, Mr. West senior says: "Sure. How is school going for you, Jade?"

.

.

Jade's father offers to drive each of them back home but Jade declines. He would drop off Beck first and then use the time it would still take to her own home to tell her that she couldn't introduce some guy out of the blue when he never heard of him before, and that she shouldn't date an artsy person anyway but finally come to her senses and be smart with her life choices, including picking a boyfriend.

She never had that kind of conversation with him before because she never actually had a boyfriend up until now. She dated around but she isn't sure how much her father knows about that.

She knows him though and knows that he would say all that stuff and she so isn't in the mood for it.

That's why she tells Beck to text his parents to pick him up while she texts her mother. She won't ask her mother to drop Beck off at home. She doesn't even know in what part of town he lives but either way she doesn't feel like Beck and her mother meeting as well. Her mother doesn't know that she brought Beck here today. If she comes to pick her up before Beck's parents do him, she even thinks of telling her that he's a relative of Stephanie's. If she won't just keep silent under questioning.

Anyway... She tells her family that she and Beck will leave and wait for their rides around the corner.

They try to insist that at least one of them should go with them, under the pretence of it already being dark and potentially dangerous outside, but Jade knows it's because they think they will make out or worse as soon as they are alone outside. She can't blame them. If she would actually be together with Beck, maybe she would do that. But what do they care?

She makes clear that they won't see her for a long time if they won't let her and Beck go alone and that's what makes them let them go.

Her father and Stephanie will stay for another while at her grandparents'. They usually do when they all have dinner together and Jade doesn't ask to be dropped off home by one of them. Jade guesses that they still sit together and drink then. Maybe use the time without her around to talk more trash about her. She doesn't know.

"That's not how I imagined the night to go," Beck says when they arrive back in front of the house where she asked Beck to come this afternoon. She also texted her mother to pick her up here.

Beck continues when Jade says nothing: "I thought, with what you said, that they would be... all over me in a good way, I guess."

"They did like you," Jade tells him because they did. Well, her father not so much but he barely likes anyone, so... "And it went better than I imagined. I wasn't sure asking them to not do their usual thing in front of you would work. But they liked you enough that they didn't want to make you uncomfortable, which means a lot."

She looks at Beck and he seems somewhat confused and actually as if he had been uncomfortable during the dinner in between, even if her family didn't want to make him feel that way.

She has half in mind to apologize but... why should she? He also didn't ask how tonight was going to go. Otherwise she would've possibly warned him in some way. He also could've decided not to come.

"I still had a nice evening," he finally says.

"Yeah, right," she responds. As if.

He must've only said it to be polite. He easily gives in now. He doesn't insist that he had a nice evening, instead he says with a smile and a shrug: "The food was amazing."

"My grandma does know how to cook," Jade confirms.

It must've taken longer than Jade thought to get out of her grandparents' house after they already texted their parents, or Beck just lives closeby to her grandparent's house, at least there appears a car at the end of the street and Beck says: "That's my dad. Are you getting home?"

He might've not noticed her also texting her mother while he texted his parents. And she didn't outright say in the house that she would get picked up too. He could wonder if she'll walk home in the dark or take a bus and if her family was worried because of that.

"My mom will come pick me up," she responds.

"Should I wait with you?" he asks.

She pulls her eyebrows together. "No, ugh."

Beck's father's car comes closer and finally stops close to them while Beck notices: "If I was your boyfriend, I would."

"And I would be your damsel in distress," Jade says in disgust, because she gets sick by that concept.

Beck isn't fazed by her tone. "It's the decent thing to do, no matter sex or gender. I wouldn't want you to get hurt." A heartbeat, then he resolutely adds: "I don't want you to get hurt. So I'm waiting with you."

She rolls her eyes but she doesn't protest. Because he actually seems to care. He doesn't even know her – or maybe it's exactly because he doesn't know her. Her grandparents only wanted someone to be with her for her not to be able to make out with Beck. But Beck actually thinks something could happen to her when she's waiting alone in the dark. And she doesn't need a protector but...

She lets Beck walk up to his father's care, on the driver's side. Mr. Oliver gets the hint and rolls down his car window for them to be able to talk.

"Hey, Dad," Beck says. "Jade's still waiting for her mom to pick her up. I'm waiting with her, yeah?"

"Of course. We can't have anyone wait alone in the dark," Jade hears Mr. Oliver answer. She also feels him looking her up and down out of the car, even though she can't see inside the car with the street and car lights and it being dark inside of it.

Beck walks back to her and Jade asks him quietly: "What does he know?" What does he know of this whole arrangement? Where does he think Beck has been and who Jade is?

"I told him and my mom that we met at your grandparents' for some project for school," Beck responds.

"And they didn't ask what kind of project?" Jade looks up at him sceptical.

He shrugs. "They did actually but I didn't give a real answer."

"Not all goody-goody, huh?" Jade asks and might even be slightly impressed. But only because she didn't expect him in any way to be nonresponsive to his parents.

Beck meanwhile seems curious: "Do I seem like that?"

"Uhu," Jade responds somewhat amused.

The same moment another car is pulling up. Jade's mother has arrived.

Jade even bids Beck a quick goodbye before she gets to her mother's car.


	3. Chapter 3

Welcome back!  
I feel so thankful for all the reviews I've been getting!  
Here is another chapter that almost only tells one scene. And only one chapter will follow in which... everything will happen. Or not. ;P  
Enjoy!

* * *

The next two days go by like usual. Beck and Jade don't talk about the dinner – why should they? – and Jade is back to scaring girls away. It's only one per day for those two days.

Beck's at his locker Friday morning the third day after the dinner that Jade suddenly approaches him though there's no girl close to him at that point.

He notices her when she starts speaking, even before she fully stops next to him: "So while my family usually doesn't talk, apparently my grandma met my gran at the supermarket and told her all about how she met you and now my other grandparents want to meet you too. They also asked my mom all about why they didn't know about you."

Beck feels like he has to mentally catch up for a second but he's quick to realize that her mother got to know about her fake boyfriend and... did she already know?

"What did your mother say?" he slowly asks. What did Jade's mother say to her own parents? From that answer he'll easily be able to tell if her mother knows about their somewhat weird arrangement.

"That I would've told them eventually," Jade answers. "She never would've told them that she also didn't know about you as her parents would've had a lot to say about our relationship again then. But she obviously didn't like that she didn't know, especially after I already introduced you to my dad and his family. So I told her about our deal."

"Oh," Beck makes. Well, okay then. Yeah, it makes sense. It almost sounds as if Jade's mother was hurt not knowing and that makes it different lying to her than lying to her father. Beck wouldn't have thought that Jade cared but... as it seems she does.

"Yeah," she continues. "And she said that I shouldn't tell her parents the truth as they definitely would reach out to my dad then and tell him too and that'd be a whole mess, so... I want you to come to dinner at their place, so they feel like they're on equal footing with my other grandparents and don't hate me, and then I'll tell everyone we broke up in a few days or something."

"Okay, sure," he says because yes, why not? She still acts as his girlfriend for him; why shouldn't he be her boyfriend for another evening? It won't be weirder than the dinner with her other grandparents, he guesses. "Today?"

"If you have time tonight, I'll call them and ask if it works for them too," she nods and that's that.

.

.

She does text him an address and a time when he's just home from school that late afternoon. It's closer than her other grandparents' house and he takes the bus there.

Jade isn't in front of the house she texted him the address of and he texts her: "I'm here." Just so she knows. Maybe he's also supposed to walk along to another house without her.

But he hasn't sent his text for too long when one of the doors of the house he's standing in front of opens. Jade's looking out and waving him lazily inside. "Come on in."

Beck does but some confusion must've shown in his face as Jade promptly explains: "My mom decided she wanted to meet you too. My grandparents will come here."

Oh, so this is actually her very own home. Jade's home. She lives on the first floor of this house with her mother. And Beck'll meet her mother who knows that they pretend to be a couple. They will pretend in front of her for her parents. Well, that might get weird.

He walks inside into an open living room and kitchen and finds a woman, busy at the stove.

"Hello," she says with a smile, watching Beck up and down in a way that weirdly reminds him of Jade despite the smile. "I'm Caitlyn."

"I'm Beck," he responds with an awkward wave while Jade closes the door behind him and makes a gesture for him to walk further into the room.

"You're the one pretending to be my daughter's boyfriend," Caitlyn says.

He wouldn't have counted for her to actually outright say it. Obviously they both know that for a fact and also know that she knows about it. But that doesn't mean they have to talk about it.

"Yeah, that's me," he says nevertheless and wonders if he should explain how all of it came to be. Instead he decides on: "I'm sorry if that makes you uncomfortable."

Caitlyn looks at him for another moment, then: "Okay, I get it. You would soften up my ex in-laws."

"See?" Jade promptly makes. "It was a good idea."

"We'll see about that when you get out of it without any of them finding out the truth," Caitlyn says and gets distracted by something outside. Her look goes over to the window by the door and she notices: "There's Thomas with Jasper."

"Ugh. I'm going to my room," Jade decides and is already on her way to another door when Caitlyn says: "Take your boyfriend with you."

Beck's glad that her mother tells Jade that and that Jade actually makes a gesture for him to follow her, even if she rolls her eyes at it. He would've felt so awkward to stay alone in the room with Jade's mother while Jade herself was in her room.

Beck follows Jade into a small hallway and then through another door into a dark room that's without a doubt her bedroom.

He closes the door behind him before he takes a look around. He notices a lot of shelves with books and dvds on them but also one that has what looks like preserving jars with gross stuff in it on them. On the wall she has a poster of The Scissoring but also a lot of butterflies and even some other insects presented in the same way.

Well... "You like to collect weird things." Butterflies and whatever is in those jars.

"Really?" Jade responds in mock surprise. Okay, she knows herself that she collects weird things. She knows herself that they are weird.

She sits down on a comfy looking chair in the room and he does on a small couch, as he asks interested: "So who are Thomas and Jasper and why don't you want to meet them?"

As she immediately wanted to leave for her room when her mother said they were coming now, she obviously doesn't want to meet them.

"I don't want to meet Thomas," Jade answers. "Because he always acts like he's my father when he sees me. He's Jasper's father. Jasper's my brother."

"You have a brother?" Beck asks in surprise. He didn't know that. Well, why should he have? He has barely ever talked to Jade. But Robbie's sister comes up in conversations at lunch or alike, as does Cat's brother. Jade never mentioned her brother at those times.

"Isn't that what I just said?" Jade responds irritated.

Okay, then. Beck gets back to looking around. He's sure Jade doesn't just let anyone in her room. They may not know each other well, but Beck does think he knows that about her. He's just in here by chance, because she actually needs her mother to lie to her own parents and she therefore did as her mother asked with taking Beck to her room.

He's looking along the books and the movies, trying to read a few titles just to know what Jade's into.

He gets interrupted though by Jade saying: "He's only seven." Beck looks to Jade again who looks back at him. He knows she's talking about her brother. "He knows about all of this because I don't lie to him. Not seriously anyway. The main goal pretty much is to keep him from spilling the beans. I hoped he would stay with his father for dinner but apparently his father doesn't have more time. So here we are."

She pulls out her phone and gets involved with that. He takes that as a sign that she doesn't want to talk more. He doesn't mind.

Apparently they are only alone in the room because of Thomas dropping of her little half-brother. He must come inside with him and shortly talk to her mother. As soon as he's gone, they will go back in the living room. And it can't take too long for her grandparents to come too.

He hears the doorbell and wonders if Thomas and Jasper only now came to the door. But maybe that's already her grandparents. Caitlyn could've opened the door for the others before them ringing the bell.

He does seem to hear some voices now from the living room while he keeps looking around Jade's room.

He notices a lot of horror movies on the shelves but not exclsively. Instead there is a wide range, including action and foreign movies and even (romantic) comedies which surprise him most.

And finally, the door opens and a boy walks inside who's totally recognizeable as Jade's brother.

"Hi! Mom says that dinner is ready," he says, looking at Jade at first before he lets his eyes wander curiously to Beck.

Beck has half in mind to introduce himself to the boy that must be Jasper but Jade already gets up and puts her phone away, as she says: "Then lets get this over with. Remember, Jasper: Don't say anything about Beck at all."

"Okay," he says readily and they all leave the room together and walk back to the living room.

Thomas must've already gone as Beck only finds Caitlyn and an older couple in the main room of the home.

Caitlyn is setting the table now and the older couple already sat down at the table but stand up as they see Beck.

Beck shakes hands with them as he did with Jade's other grandparents and they introduce themselves to him and he to them, before Jade's grandmother, Mrs. Anderson, says: "We're glad we're finally getting to meet you."

Finally. Though they say anyway that they're only a couple for, what, two and a half weeks or something. Beck can't help but think Mrs. Anderson only said 'finally' because she considers a meeting between her and Beck as too late as soon as it takes place after a meeting between the Wests and Beck. But maybe he's wrong about that. Though he knows his grandparents can be... almost competetive in that way too.

"I'm also happy to meet you," Beck says and tries to sound as genuine as possible.

Mrs. Anderson turns to Jade: "Why didn't you introduce us sooner or at least tell us about him?"

Jade rolls her eyes slightly. "It's not like we're together for that long. And it just didn't come up with you."

"Come on, let's all sit down and eat," Caitlyn interrupts them.

She's done setting the table and they all do sit down and take the food and start eating, before Jade's grandparents ask the expected question about how and when Beck and Jade met.

Jade answers them and they don't react badly to him also going to Hollywood Arts at all.

Instead Mrs Anderson turns to Beck with great interest: "What's your favorite subject at school?"

"At Hollywood Arts it's definitely acting," Beck says honestly.

"Ah, so acting is your thing?" Mr. Anderson asks and Beck thinks he understands how he means it. Most people at Hollywood Arts really have one or two "things", the arts they love most, are the best in and actually were the reasons for them to visit a high school focused on arts.

"Yes, I love it," Beck confirms and he can always talk about acting so he does: "I find it fascinating to assume another personality and still be able to express my own self through it. It's freeing to not always be yourself and it's fun to find the background story to your character that the audience will never know but you know it and it shows in the way you play them."

Jade's grandparents look... happy at his words, Jasper meanwhile looks almost curious and Caitlyn seems to surpress a smirk as she looks at Jade.

Beck glances at Jade himself at the end of his response and notices her watching him almost suspiciously.

"Is it that what attracted you to each other?" Mrs. Anderson finally asks.

He doesn't get it but Caitlyn promptly explains: "That's pretty much how Jade describes her love for acting when anyone can make her talk about it. Being someone else and yet putting your everything into it."

Really? That's how she feels about acting too?

He looks back to her and she looks at him for another moment before she turns to her grandparents. "Yeah, we have the same passion and I guess that sort of drew us to each other."

Her grandparents are definitely happy about that but don't harp on about it. Instead Mr. Anderson asks Jade: "How are you enjoying your acting class? Is it everything you wished for?"

"Yeah," Jade answers in a bit of a rough voice but she sounds honest all the same. "I like my acting teacher. He's crazy and totally over the top but everything he says about acting really helps. His tips for us to get better with or performance are spot on."

Well, and that's exactly what he thinks. He's heard before around school that everyone finds Sikowitz – whom he knows to also teach Jade's acting class, not just his – crazy. But some also only think he's crazy and there's nothing behind it. They don't see how knowledgeable he is.

Jade's grandparents also ask about Jade's other classes, especially the artistic ones. Jade avoided talking about those altogether in front of her other grandparents and also mainly told them what she has learned during the first few weeks at Hollywood Arts in the other classes. Now she talks much more about the different teachers and how awful she finds so many of them.

She tells stories about them and Beck can't help but add stuff when he was in the same class where her stories took place.

They're all having a good time and laugh together. Only Jasper gets bored after they are done eating and is allowed by his mother to play on an old game boy advance that might've been Jade's once.

They move over from the table to the couch by that point and Jasper ends up dropping down next to Beck after getting the game boy and as he's playing Pokémon and obviously Beck also loved to play that when he was younger, like everyone, he has to talk to him about it, while the rest of the family meanwhile started talking about Caitlyn's job and her parents' neighbors and other things Beck doesn't have anything to say to anyway.

Jasper's really excited to know that Beck also loved to play video games in general at his age and still plays occasionally. They also cover the Mario games while talking and their favorite characters to play with during Mario Kart, which is the moment Jade finally intervenes to tell Beck that he's an idiot if he thinks Mario is the right character to play in the original game for the Super Nintendo instead of Yoshi.

Beck's almost surprised when he notices that it's close to his curfew when Jade's grandparents leave. He hurries to text his own parents to pick him up, is even worried that he overstayed his welcome. Maybe he wasn't supposed to stay the whole evening. Though... Jade would have told him to leave if that was what she had wanted, he guesses.

He helps cleaning up afterwards and Caitlyn smiles at him as he puts the last glas into the dishwasher next to her: "Thank you, Beck."

"Thank you for having me," he says earnestly. He had a really nice evening with such great food.

"Of course," Caitlyn says and then with a bit of cheek: "You can come over any time."

She looks over to Jade, and Beck does too. Jade cocks an eyebrow at them but almost also with a smirk.

He definitely smirks. "Thanks."

Yeah, well, it's not like he's actually Jade's boyfriend and therefore would want to come over all the time.

"You should come over again," Jasper promptly says. "We could play video games together!"

"That sounds awesome," Beck says with a grin.

It does, but he won't tell Jasper that they will totally do that. He won't promise him anything that he might not be able to do. Jade would actually have to let him come back for that to happen. It would be weird to come to the house of a classmate without them wanting to to play video games with their seven year old brother. At least Beck would find it weird.

Though he honestly would like to come back. He likes Caitlyn and Jasper. He enjoyed the evening. He enjoyed hearing Jade talk so much with her family. He liked how she told stories and how many opinions she had and shared. He liked how they were able to talk back to each other when he added things.

She isn't untalktive at all, unlike his impression of her up until now. She just doesn't seem to care too much in school. But when she talks to people she loves or about things that interest her... she talks. And is damn funny, if he might say so. He likes her dark humor that she presented, even if her grandparents and mother didn't seem to appreciate it all that much.

Well, maybe he misjudged her before. And maybe he's interested to know even more about her.


	4. Chapter 4

Welcome back everyone to the last part of this fic!  
I feel like it's ending quite quickly but I hope I set it up well.  
Thank you for all the wonderful reviews and for putting my story into you favorites and for following it! To Emma, who asked about a story without an account: I'm not sure I can do that idea. I'm very indecisive at the moment. Sorry, I can't give a better answer. ;)  
I wish the best to all of you and hope you'll enjoy the last part too!

* * *

Beck really is sickenly perfect. Jade didn't really notice him much at her grandparents' place but at her own home with her mother, brother and other grandparents... It surprisingly hasn't even unnerved her then.

Their behaviour around each other at school doesn't change all that much. Well, maybe they talk a little bit more. But that mainly at lunch when they would've talked anyway.

On Monday there isn't even any girl close to Beck for Jade to chase away, not that she sees. She does make sure on Tuesday before a shared class that Felicitas doesn't sit next to him because hell, if she would share a class with her boyfriend she would sit next to him instead and definitely not allow another girl – or boy for that matter – to do that.

But yes, their classmates know by now that Beck is in a committed realtionship – or they think they know – and that his girlfriend's the absolute jealous type.

She does find some Sophomore girl with him during an early break on Wednesday but she's hurrying away even as Jade's only approaching.

Jade still walks up to Beck all the way because it also would look suspicious to walk elsewhere now, if someone might watch.

"They're finally learning," she notices.

She likes it. She likes that she made it that barely any girl approaches Beck at all anymore, just by her mere presence. It's not like she ever actually did anything to any of them.

She guesses they will therefore be done soon with this act. She's sure they got further than Beck ever wanted with how much he's left alone.

Beck smiles at her: "They are. Julia didn't even flirt with me just now but still had something very important to do when she saw you approaching."

"Want us to break up?" Jade checks with a somewhat lowered voice for nobody else to hear. 'Break up' so that he can actually have his small talk with his flirtatious smile.

He shakes his head though: "Not yet. I like it as it is at the moment. I did want to ask you something else: Want to go out to dinner with me Friday night?"

Jade cocks an eyebrow at him and again with a lowered voice: "You know we're not actually a couple, right?"

Beck grins. "I do know that. But I noticed that I already got two free dinners out of this while you have to spend all day in school with chasing girls away from me. So I thought I could treat you to some dinner."

Well, she has a lot of fun scaring girls away while he had a very awkward dinner with her father's family but as this deal draws closer to an end... why not take a free dinner out of it? Not to mention that she might also enjoy talking to Beck. She wouldn't mind to grab some food with him and talk some more.

"Sounds reasonable. I want sushi," she decides and that's what they get on Friday night.

They go out together and end up talking a whole lot about horror movies which Beck doesn't know too much about but the few he did see, he loved because of the thrill. Obviously Jade has to recommend him some more before they talk about other movies and then acting and finally also writing which they both also enjoy very much.

.

.

During dinner they talked about a thriller that's out at the moment and that both actually want to watch and didn't really get around to until now.

They decided to go on Monday evening, when their closest movie theater has the best student discount.

At lunch on Monday they ask their friends if anybody wants to come as well. While Cat and Robbie quickly decide not to, Andre seems on the fence and finally says: "Well, if you're sure you're fine with someone tagging along."

Oh, right, because they are a couple and this could be a date.

Beck and Jade share a quick look before Beck easily says: "No, sure, we wouldn't be asking otherwise."

.

.

They have a great time at the movies and see a preview there for another movie they want to watch the next Friday. Neither of their friends want to come along this time, so they go alone but they don't mind. They grab some food together afterwards, both of them having a late curfew on weekends, so they have enough time.

They talk about all the best parts of the movie then even bicker quite a bit about the last scene and its meaning.

It's not like they are actually getting angry at each other though. Beck instead is quick to smile again afterwards and Jade even notices him smiling around. And only for a moment he and a girl at another table lock their eyes into each other and the girls smiles back – yes, flirtatiously, Jade knows that kind of smile. She also promptly tugs her hair behind her ear and then tries to change her look into a coy one.

Beck slightly nods at her, as if greeting, still smiling that smile he has that's oh so charming and... seriously?

"Are you flirting with some girl while we're talking?"

It's not like they're on a date but still.

Beck looks at her in surprise – only that makes the other girl notice Jade too and narrow her eyes at her. Jade throws her a dirty glare that makes her look away.

"I'm not flirting."

"Yeah, right," Jade responds.

And what is it with him? Apparently he really doesn't notice it all that much. Subconciously it's obviously flattering for him. Well, and then sometimes it suddenly becomes too much because he also likes his calm and quiet and especially the school and their group of friends is crazy enough that he doesn't need more action. He especially doesn't need more people around him constantly. But he can't say no.

Which is so weird because she long noticed how easy he can voice an opinion.

He also didn't draw back during their disagreement about the movie just now. How does that fit with him not saying no to all those girls before?

"So is it just strangers you can't say no to?"

Beck blinks. For a moment she thinks she needs to explain what she means but he understands in the end and answers before she has to say any more: "My parents raised me to be polite. I don't think I ever learned to set boundaries."

Which is just stupid. And anyway: "I don't think they would be all over you if you wouldn't be out for it."

"I'm not out for it," he says, just like he said before that he wasn't flirting.

"Come on," she responds. "You make yourself appear sooo perfect and are flirty all around."

Beck blinks again, very much confused. That's apparently not how he perceives himself. "I'm not perfect."

"I know, believe me, but you make yourself appear that way."

Beck looks at her for another moment, before he shrugs: "I guess I'm that kind of person."

He must be. And she wants to be annoyed by it but she can't.

Suddenly, Beck grins: "How do you know I'm not perfect?"

She likes that that's the question he goes with instead of asking what makes him appear perfect.

She smirks. "The more we talk, the more I think you're a mess."

Which weirdly doesn't really make him less perfect. It makes him less... the kind of perfect society likes. She's almost sure that many girls in school wouldn't find him as perfect anymore if they talked to him even only as much as she did by now. With the weird fascination he has for the psychological fuck of the few horror movies he has seen, with how he talks about acting almost like about a child of his, with how he laughs at all of her darkest jokes, with how he doesn't care as much about people he doesn't know... It makes him more perfect for her somehow.

He also smirks. "The more we talk, the more I think you're actually a really nice person."

He must know she doesn't aim to be nice and it's also not who she is.

She outright grins. "How dare you?"

.

.

At the end of the night, Beck wants to pay for his meal but Jade stops him. "Let me pay. You payed for the last one."

He did pay for their evening at the sushi place a week ago but he also invited her there kind of as a thanks for all she's done in school. They each payed for themselves at the movies.

But he's ready to let her treat him this time. "Then I'll take the next again."

She's putting money on the table as she suggests with a smirk: "You could also invite and treat me to that play you were gushing over."

They talked about theater right before the bill came and he just saw this play that he wants to soon seen again. He told her all about it and she did seem interested.

"I don't gush," he has to say. "But sure."

Somehow they don't end up asking their friends to tag along for this one.

.

.

They start talking much more in school, also walk to their classes together more often and also meet up afterwards occasionally to go to the movies or the theater again or eat dinner together.

Jade doesn't often have to scare girls away anymore in any capacity. Instead it happens more and more that girls talk to Beck just like Cat does, obviously only in a friendly way. Jade lets that happen without checking with Beck if he wants that too. It's obvious that he likes friendly conversations. And if she was his girlfriend, she would be fine with him being friends with other girls, obviously. She only puts her foot down when he himself gets too flirty. ... Because with that attitude he just ensures for everyone to be all over him again.

Today as they're talking at Jade's locker about a script idea Beck has and which Jade finds surprisingly fascinating, Rosa's approaching them. Or more Beck. She's expectantly looking at him as she stops with them.

"Uhm, hi," she says unsurely and Beck turns to her with a smile.

Well, seriously? No. She can't come into their conversation like this.

Jade has to shoot out an aggressive: "What?"

Rosa looks at her with wide eyes, while Beck puts a hand on her arm. "We're doing that project together and still need to figure out the specifics," he explains and makes it sound as if Jade knew about whatever school project they are doing together.

Jade didn't but yeah, of course, this is fine. If Rosa's only talking to Beck because of a school project... She's still stupid for interrupting them like this but...

"Ugh," Jade only makes, before she just leaves the two of them standing there together. She doesn't need to listen to them talk about some school thing. She still glares at Rosa for interrupting them as she leaves.

The thing is that she sees both of them together in front of Beck's locker again during next break and now, Rosa is flirty. She's giggling all stupidly like Jade has never heard her do before.

Beck doesn't seem to notice yet.

Well, Jade does and it kind of pisses her off. Also, Beck will soon notice and then feel uncomfortable again as he does. Unless he also likes Rosa.

Jade hesitates for a moment but Beck can tell her later if he does.

Promptly she walks up to them. She feels like kissing Beck to make a point but they are not actually together, so instead she just stops extremely close to Beck, all up his personal space as she asks: "Still talking about that project?"

Beck doesn't notice what she's doing. By now it has become too normal for Jade and him to talk during so many breaks that it seems natural for Jade to walk up to him and... show interest what he's talking about with someone else, even if she usually might not stand so close to him while doing that.

"Yeah. We haven't totally figured it out," he responds and Jade says: "Hurry up then."

And she just keeps with them while they talk. She seems bored after a while but only when she, leaning against the lockers by now, not as close to Beck anymore, takes Beck's hand in hers does Beck realize what she's doing. Oh. Was Rosa flirting? Did he flirt? She told him that he often flirts and that that might be the reason, Hollywood Arts was so bad for him at the beginning – he was the one drawing all those girls to him.

Well, as far as he can tell, Rosa definitely isn't flirty at all now, not even as he watches out for it. Of course not, as his girlfriend is with him.

They don't need to talk about it. When Rosa and he finally pinpointed their project and split the work equally, Rosa leaves and Beck turns to Jade: "I'm so not in the mood for all that work tonight." But Rosa and he also agreed to be done by tomorrow to then be able to put it together during one break and be done with it.

Jade smirks before she suggests: "We could also watch that movie... what was it? Phone Booth?"

"Yes," Beck directly says.

He told her about that earlier today. It was one of his favorite movies for a while. He hasn't seen it for years now and is sure it's actually not all that good. He does have it on dvd, as Jade knows.

"Wanna come over tonight and watch it?" he asks her.

"Sure," she says with a grin. "You still should do your homework though."

"I'll try to get it done before," Beck says. That work doesn't seem too bad now anymore with the prospect of watching a movie together with Jade tonight that he once liked very much.

The school bell rings for the end of their break and only as they have to part for their different classes, they let go of each other's hand.

.

.

It's two days later, on a Friday, that they eat an early dinner together again and just talk and enjoy their time together. Beck walks Jade home afterwards like he sometimes does.

"You can still come in if you want to," Jade offers when they come to a halt in front of her front door.

Beck smiles. "Thanks but I actually promised my parents that we'll have a game night, so gotta get home."

"Lame," Jade smirks and Beck nods: "I know. Maybe you can come to game night some time."

"Ugh. If I have to," Jade says. "I would be interested to meet the people that made you your weird self."

Beck laughs lightly.

"Anyway," Jade adds, "my brother totally still wants to play videogames with you. He keeps saying that when I mention you."

Beck's more than happy about that. "Aw, I made a good impression. How about I come by tomorrow and we finally do that?"

"Sounds like a plan," Jade says.

And that's it. It's time for their goodbyes for the day.

Neither of them thinks about it. Neither of them plans it. They just both lean forward and kiss each other.

It feels like it has been long overdue. They quickly hold on to each other as if holding on for dear life, as they realize what's happening, as their lips meet a few times, only parting for each of them to draw breath.

Well, maybe they actually stopped pretending a long while ago.


End file.
